Page 71 of Tess, Property of Blaze

Tess looks at Jazz. “Cab? I thought you were driving.”

“You kidding, girl? I’m getting my drink on. I know I’ll regret it tomorrow when Rose and Jack want their momma’s attention, but I’ll deal with that then.”

Tess laughs, a real full-hearted laugh, and it’s music to my ears. Yeah, Jasmine is the best remedy.

Jasmine waves to me from the steps leading down from the porch. “See ya, and don’t wait up for her, we are letting loose tonight!”

I don’t look away from Tess—I need for her to give me a sign that things are okay between us. Shyly she looks back at me. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

I nod. “Sure, babe.” She doesn’t know I’ll see her sooner rather than later. I promised Quill we would look out for them. “Enjoy yourselves.” Walking over to Tess, I place a kiss on her cheek, then whisper, “Have a good night, baby.”

She doesn’t respond, just gives me a small smile, then Jasmine takes her hand and I watch them walk outside to the cab. Tess looks out the window at me as it takes off, and I release a breath I didn’t know I was holding, hopeful we’ll get through this.

A chime sounds on my phone, and I pull it out of my pocket and check. It’s a text from Quill: Meet you at Mike’s at nine.

I text back, See you there, then head back into the house to take a shower and get ready. I put on a pair of clean dark denim jeans and a white shirt and tug my boots back on before heading into the kitchen for a feed. Grabbing last night’s leftover pizza from the fridge, I quickly heat it up and eat it, wondering how Tess will react when she notices I’m there with the boys tonight. When I’m finished eating, I place my empty plate into the sink, grab my cut from the couch, and after shrugging into it, grab my keys on the way out.

I take the scenic route to the bar, using the time alone to really think about the situation between me and Tess. After everything that went down with Viper, I still want to marry her. I still want her to be my wife. The thought of her being married to Viper, to anyone else at all, kills me. But surely now that he’s dead, that marriage would be null and void, seeing that she’s now a widow. I smile, thinking about the ring tucked away in my duffel bag inside the closet. It’s my mom’s ring, the one my father gave to her when he proposed. I want Tess to wear it always. I want kids with her, three or four, and I want to bring them up together with her, here in our house by the beach. When I bought the house, I made sure there was enough space for a growing family, hoping she would one day say yes to me. Third time lucky, they say, and boy do I hope that is true.

Parking my bike, I check my watch; it’s nearly nine. There’s a strip of the club bikes next to mine, and I swing myself off, wondering if Tess is in there yet.

“Hey, baby,” a woman says as I pass her walking in. I don’t reply, I just keep walking, scanning the room for Tess. And then I spot her. She’s drinking shots, one after the other, with the girls. I smile, seeing for myself she’s having a good time. I hear a whistle and look over at the bar. Quill and the boys are there, and I lift my chin and make my way to them.

“There you are, brother,” Quill says as I accept the beer he’s offering.

“Sorry, man, had some stuff to do.”

His eyebrows raise but he lets it go. “Yeah, well, you’re here now. See your woman? She looks like she’s having a good time.”

I turn and lean against the bar and watch Tess on the dance floor, her body hypnotizing as something low and full of bass comes on. She hasn’t even noticed my presence yet. “Hey, Jasmine know you’re here?”

Quill smirks. “Yeah, man.”

“How’d she take it?”

He sets his beer on the bar and leans beside me, watching his wife move to the music. “At first she was pissed, but then she said she loves it when I watch her.”

I laugh, same old Jazz.

“Hey, boys.” Trigger arrives at the bar. “What’s everyone drinking.”

“Beers all around,” I say, noting the mix of bottles littering the bar top.

“Nah, come on, let’s have a real drink. I’m getting married soon.”

“Fuck, man. You sure about that,” Hawke says from somewhere behind me.

“Why, you got regrets,” Trigger asks, and Hawke looks over at Luisa, who’s on the dance floor and using Jasmine as a stripper pole.

“Nah, man, no regrets. Never.”

I envy these boys, they’re married to great chicks, and Trigger is on his way to the same. I look over at Tess, and she finally spots me. She’s swaying her hips as she brings another shot to her mouth, her tongue coming out to lick away the alcohol from her lips. I stand there, transfixed, as I watch her run her hands down the side of her body, swaying her curves to the sensual beat. My cock hardens instantly and strains against the zipper of my jeans. She’s driving me fuckin’ crazy. It might be the alcohol giving her the confidence, but I don’t care, Tess like this full of confidence drives me fuckin’ wild. I won’t be able to hold back much longer if she doesn’t stop. It’s been ages since I last had her, and my cock knows that.

She faces the girls again and continues to dance, and I turn around and take a swig of my beer, listening in on Quill and Trigger’s conversation about the fact we’re all going to be wearing suits again.

“Hey, man, you gonna let him get away with that?”

I look over at Hawke, confused. “Who, man.”

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